hayleyeDESMA9

Week 2: Math and Art

Hayley Epstein

Sunday April 10, 2016

The way in which math and art are intertwined is a topic in which I have given little thought. I often forget that the two are very involved, however, having taken both art history classes and art classes themselves, I am certainly aware of the ways in which art is dependent on mathematics; with geometry playing a large role, as the vanishing point and the golden ratio are both key elements in creating aesthetically symmetrical, dimensional, and realistic pieces of art.

Although I had learned about vanishing points, Mark Frantz's article gave me a much better understanding of the use of the vanishing point, as well as how to spot the vanishing point in both a top view and a side view image.(Frantz, 2000) I was drawn towards reading more about this, because I feel that the vanishing point is a mathematical tool which, once it is properly understood, can greatly improve a person's artistic abilities. I remember in art class in high school, after learning about the vanishing point, I was shocked at how much my ability to draw buildings in a city improved. Although, in many ways, people view art and math as being different, one being full of rules and the other being creative, there is actually quite some overlap in regards to each of these. Math can be quite creative, while art has many rules, including that of the vanishing point.

One of the topics I was drawn to this week was the works of M.C. Escher, particularly his work with tessellations, the arrangements of close shapes which "completely cover the plane without overlapping and without leaving gaps." (The Mathematical Art of..) The reason that this caught my eye is because I very vividly remember that throughout elementary and middle school I always loved playing with blocks that were in shapes which allowed us to create tessellations. I remember that this was an activity to help us learn more about geometry, and it most certainly did, as it provided hands on insight unto the way in which angles and sides of shapes can interact with one another. However, it truly felt like art to me as a child, and in fact; it was both! M.C. Escher an his work with Tessellations immediately reminded me of these blocks. Here are the comparisons between M.C. Escher's work and the blocks that I used in school:

Tessellation blocks
http://mathforum.org/sum95/suzanne/active.html

Tiles in the Alhambra; drawing 1936

Another thing that I was aware of but had never learned the background in, or recognized it as a relationship between art and math, is that of Fractals. A fatal is a pattern that "repeats itself at different scales" (African Fractals) Fractals are used often for modeling within nature, as there are many parts of nature in which there are numerous of one thing such as peaks of mountains or puffs in clouds. The use of such art, however, is very common in African patterns. This was a revelation to me as I always knew the way that african patterns often looked and was always interested in the use of shapes involved, however I did not know that it was using a technique called fractals. This also remains me of kaleidoscopes and the way that they have repeated patterns throughout to create something that is quite mesmerizing. I believe that the juxtaposition of Math, Art, and Science, is one that is continually changing, as the three are inherently a part of one another. As art continues to change and grow in the modern world, with interactive artistic pieces, origami, and all sorts of three dimensional pieces; science and math will always play a critical role in the development of art.